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Using home made boxes for shipping

The BoidSmith

The BoidSmith

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When receiving herp shipments from different companies/individuals I have noticed there are two type of boxes. There are those obviously home made with the styro cut to fit and those that have been bought already made. What's your preference? If you are buying, which company are you buying the boxes from? Considering the image you want to portray to your clients is it worth it the money tou saved by using a recycled box vs. a brand new one?
 
If done properly there is nothing wrong with a home made box. Here are the advantages of a commericial box.

1. Easy to use.

2. Time saver

3. Biggest reason of all. Your sending an animal to someone you've never met. Are they one of those customers that are nervous buying online? That first impression can weigh their overall impression of the transaction. Are they opening your box looking for a problem or feeling excited due to professional appearence of your packaging? Are they going to nit pick the transaction (the lizard is only 5 7/8" instead of 6" like you said as an example) because the impression of your package is that your a half-way company and they can play you for a discount or refund.

I would always use a new box. Shipping is rough on the structural integrity of the box. The one time you re-use a box is the time that the shippers will be extremely rough and it will fail on you. A crushed animal is an unhappy customer. Is that worth the $2 - $3 you saved?
 
I like to use the one that is

least conspicuous to the carrier. Ive had my difficulties with boxes that were brand new and said "perishable". I dont use them any longer. Brown corrogated with styrofoam inside, winter or summer, heat pack or not, popcorn or newspaper . The inserts depend on the temp. of its final destination. Here in Fla its always 85, so I dont have to worry on my end.

I dont mark the boxes, other than labels that say" do not expose to extreme temp. handle with care, keep out of direct sunlight. " beyond that the box is what I basically call a "silent carrier". I pay the fee, and dont advertise what I am shipping. I have never had a problem.
 
Jerry,

We're about as night and day as you can get.

When shipping animals (I don't know if this applies to fruit fly cultures) I believe you need to label them to comply with the Lacy Act. I would talk with Rob Trenor at RK Reptiles as he seems to have the Lacy Act memorized :D

Once when I walked into a industrial supply store the clerk asked if we were the "reptile cage people" in town. This was due to him working nights at UPS and seeing our cage packages go through (ALL our boxes have our logo, domain name, and company name on the box. And I mean ALLLLLLL). It's called logo branding. I hear Coca Cola and Pepsi have found some success using it as a marketing practice.
 
DANIEL, the fruitfly business

is different although we have had our difficulties with those shipments as well . What I was referring to had to do with reptiles. Ive made it a policy to be as inconspicuous as possible. I dont think the Lacy act has anything to do with this, but I am comfortable with my current method and will continue to do so.

When 9/11 occured, the post office re-examined their policies about using commercial carriers to transport mail. A deal was struck with Fed Ex to have mail transported on their planes. In return, Fed Ex would be allowed to put their boxes on the post office grounds. The problem that we encountered was that Fed Ex refused to take anything living. Even if it was going through the post office! We have federal permits as well as other labels on the outside of our boxes. They were being returned as was other living materials, (baby chicks, bees, plants, non hazardous cultures, fruitflies and even seeds) This nearly put us out of business. To make matters worse, when the anthrax scare popped up, the post office instituted Irradication machines in what is called the eastern corridor (Pa, NY , NJ, Wash DC, etc) these were killling our cultures once they went through the machines! We had our share of difficulties. Things have calm down since then, but again we stopped using most of our labels on the outside of the box, and have not encountered any difficulties. As a point of information, we are a know shipper as we have been using the same post office for 9 years here in FLa. It was on good authority that we were told to be a bit more discreet when we shipped, not only for us but for anyone in the living material industry. We understood that very well, and Ive used that same policy with my geckos. So thats it my friend.
We are not so different from each other, but expiedient measures sometimes are required in order to just survive in this parinoid world, I prefer to maintain my anonimity.
 
There are very few businesses that will do business on a handshake anymore (I am one of the hold outs that deals on a persons word and attitude) such as your known shipper status because you had used the same post office for 9 years. While I have a serious anti-authority figure issue :D I've come to realize that getting a signed contract from large companies when my needs are outside their standard operating procedure is a must. There are people working the system to get authorized live shipments via normal carriers Fedex and UPS. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32519

I understand the need to do what it takes to survive as a business but I feel when dealing with retail customers it is easier to be above board. My initial post was concerning deliveries to the retail customer as most of this site's businesses deal with the retail customers.
 
I make my own boxes. I feel they are superior in insulation ability to any of the pre made boxes I have seen for sale.
I use "blue board" to insulate the boxes. It is 3/4" thick and alot more dense than the coarse grade white styro used in the pre made boxes.

I used to use recycled boxes. I chose them carefully, making sure they had no damage, but it got to the point that was more of an aggravation during the hatching season trying to locate boxes, so now I buy bundles of boxes from Associated Bag. They cost about 0.45 each and are well worth it to have them on hand.
My boxes are plain brown. I write "live harmless reptiles" on the packing label, but don't particularly want a big logo on the box itself.

After reading several horror stories about the way some complete idiots have attempted to ship live herps (the burm loose in the UPS truck, the turtles loose in an empty priority mail box), I put together a page showing how I make my boxes.
It is located here http://arbreptiles.com/shipping/index.shtml
 
I used to make my own boxes, but I am very happy to have switched to buying them. I actually think it costs me less and takes 1/4 of the time. I used to have to dedicate entire days to prepping boxes--buying the foam, the boxes, and cutting and making them...
I now buy my boxes from Daniel! www.exoticlizards.com . Makes my life a ton easier and I think it looks more professional.

Dana
 
Well I guess my preaching to others the Lacey Act is working:p People are starting to realize what it is. As for Jerry's Fly Cultures they are not covered by the lacey act but any Reptiles or Amphibians or other animals are covered and the regulations must be followed. I try to let everyone know as I don't want to see anyone (even my competition) getting into trouble as it will come back and bite us all in the rear.

Now onto the Boxes. I make my own boxes using UPS express boxes for a number of reasons. 1.) I get the boxes from UPS for a pretty good Price(on average about $1 ea.), I purchase the Foam in bulk and when all is done and said and the box is made to order I have only about $3 or less in it. I have become pretty quick at cutting the Foam for the boxes as I have templates I use now. Would I like to use pre-fab boxes? Sure but I try and cut my cost everywhere I can. Also we use to use the Pre-Maid boxes (12 x 12 x 9 size) that are normally used for reptiles and actually had problems with them (i.e. carriers getting picky about them, prices of shipment being more than supposed to be, and actually had a couple where the foam insert fell apart). Who knows I might start buying the boxes from Dan as he has great prices in quantity but I hate storing too many boxes at one time.
 
Now onto the Boxes. I make my own boxes using UPS express boxes for a number of reasons. 1.) I get the boxes from UPS for a pretty good Price(on average about $1 ea.), I purchase the Foam in bulk and when all is done and said and the box is made to order I have only about $3 or less in it. I have become pretty quick at cutting the Foam for the boxes as I have templates I use now.
Click to expand...

And I can personally confirm the good job Rob does with his boxes. :) What I don't like of the one's that we buy already made is that the styro is too thin. At least for their use in a cold environment such as we are used up here. I would like to find some that are more like small "ice-boxes" (with styro lid and everything) that would fit in a cardboard box. They are probably going to be more expensive. Anyone knows where to find those?

Regards.
 
Thanks Daniel, pricey indeed! One less expensive option would be to place the bag with the herp in a smaller box with styro peanuts and the heat pack. And this one, inside a larger one also surrounded by styro-peanuts. It would be fast, cheaper, and great insulation. Just a thought.

Regards.
 
I would like to find some that are more like small "ice-boxes" (with styro lid and everything) that would fit in a cardboard box. They are probably going to be more expensive. Anyone knows where to find those?
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I have some of these boxes. Unfortunately the particular ones I have aren't really large enough to ship a herp in, other than a single hatchling colubrid or two. They are used for the shipment of perishable medication.
A family member of mine receives medication regularly in such boxes which also include 3-4 ice packs. They bring the ice packs to me which I save for use in the summer, but I have a couple of the boxes as well.
My point is he is one individual, which does not require a large box to provide his medication. A hospital or pharmacy however may have similar boxes but of a larger size due to larger shipments of medication. That would be an option for a small time shipper to have access to free styro boxes.
My wife pulls meds at the hospital, but she said all incoming shipments are processed through the hospital pharmacy and they never see any of the packaging on the floor, since the pharmacy stocks the cabinets and med dispensers.
 
I also prepare my own boxes. I think one distinction that needs to be made here is that homemade boxes aren't nesessarily recycled or reused. I purchase new boxes and insulation in bulk and prepare each shipping box individually. I have complete control over the size and the insulation of each package.

Much like Clay, I prefer to make my own for the simple reason that I can attain a much higher insulation value then the commercially sold boxes. Those of you who have received animals from me, know how seriously I take the entire packaging process.

I have purchased from Uline.com on several occasions. The "trick" with Uline, is to watch for the sales and special offerings. They change every month. When they put items on sale - the prices are very competitive.

Thank you,
 
Much like Clay, I prefer to make my own for the simple reason that I can attain a much higher insulation value then the commercially sold boxes. Those of you who have received animals from me, know how seriously I take the entire packaging process.
Click to expand...

Mike's packaging is probably among the best I have ever seen. You should see the time and detail he puts in his packaging procedure to ensure a safe arrival of the animal. By the way the boa is doing great! Thanks Mike.

Regards.
 
styro refrigerator type boxes

I used to get these from petstores. They get their fish delivered in them & are usually willing to part with them for free to unload them. Some may ask for a buck or two. I used them when I had to move my collection from St. Louis. They traveled with me but I didn't like the idea of regular boxes.
 
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